iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Kevin @reginageorgebush.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

this target list says the DCCC is convinced the majority is theirs and they're looking to utterly break the GOP's spirit

Ally Mutnick @allymutnick
X.com
NEWS: DCCC begs donors in memo for $17M
before 10/22 to avoid "leaving winnable seats on table" amid wave of GOP $
Top races on line: #FL27 #NVO2 #SC01 #NY21
#MNO1 #ARO2
Others needing funding, per DCCC ED Julie Merz:
#C003 #FLO7 #IN05 #0H10 #NC09 #VA05
punchbowl.news/for-donors_-a-...
2:00 PM • 10/9/26 • 45K Views
L7 45 135 月 35

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JW Mason @jwmason.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

As I always say to my students (sometimes with this specific example) you really need to think about the size of the effect and not just the sign. “Do rich people move in response to tax increases?” is not the right question for policy. The right question is, *how much* do they move?

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

My man ended USAID, condemning millions to death

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JLRay @jlray.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

a meth head with a fishing rod should not be valued at the worth of the planet's supply of fish and sunken pirate booty

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

"According to Marshall’s most recent Federal Election Commission records filed in July, no one working for Marshall’s campaign had received a paycheck in the past five years — a situation that campaign finance experts said was potentially unprecedented in the modern era of politics."

ms.now

Roger Marshall’s complicated history of blurring the line between taxpayer dollars and campaign cash

In a joint investigation, Kansas Reflector and MS NOW obtained records from Marshall's first Senate run that raise concerns about his use of office resources.

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Anthony L. Fisher @anthonylfisher.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

This guy is one of civility cop Bari Weiss’ favorite intellectual dark web brain geniuses. Here he is calling the mayor of America’s largest city an “Islamic demon.”

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Jesse Felder @jessefelder.com · 09/10/2026

‘Median wealth for a family in the top 10% of earners increased 31%, while wealth decreased for the bottom 40% of earners.’ www.wsj.com/economy/affl...

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Snitty 🎃 @clofsnitville.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

"The antichrist is basically anyone who stands the way of MY power and wealth" suggests you never, not once, listened to a word of Mass www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

politico.com

Peter Thiel slams Obama, Pope Leo in new ‘Antichrist’ lectures

The tech billionaire accused them of using AI concerns to “boost their own popularity,” according to recordings obtained by POLITICO.

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Lauren McGaughy @lmcgaughy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Scoop: In 2014, Ken Paxton sat for a deposition where federal lawyers quizzed him about his growing wealth and investment tactics. The depo has never been made public. We got a copy. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/u...

nytimes.com

Inside Ken Paxton’s Private Testimony About His Money

A leaked deposition from a fraud inquiry in 2014 provides insight into the Senate candidate’s growing wealth and his tactics for defending himself.

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CNN @cnn.com · 09/10/2026

Just two days before launching an effort to slash red tape for commercial space transportation, President Trump last month purchased up to $5 million of bonds issued by SpaceX, a major federal contractor run by Elon Musk, according to ethics filings made public on Thursday. cnn.it/4rRrZU0

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Grant Brisbee @grantbrisbee.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

i'm sorry, but it's still incredibly funny to imagine a literal pope watching this and yelling at the TV

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Gianmarco Soresi @gianmarcosoresi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Man who won’t give his employees piss breaks claims many piss breaks on the horizon

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Pew Research poll (9/28-10/4, web and phone, MoE ±1.6%) — Trump approval: 30%, just above his post-1/6 low of 29% — 31% of "validated Trump 2024 voters" disapprove of his job performance. — 63% of Ds are "extremely motivated" to vote, versus 46% of Rs. In Oct. '22, it was 56% for Ds, 58% for Rs.

pewresearch.org

With Americans in a Sour Mood, Democratic Voters Are More Engaged in Midterms

The 2026 midterm election comes amid deep public dissatisfaction with the state of the nation and near-record low approval ratings for Trump.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

It's subtle, but I think John Cornyn and friends are enjoying this. (www.semafor.com/article/10/0...)

“Paxton has always relied on his base and a strong statewide ticket to carry him across the finish line. He’s never played anywhere near this level and doesn’t understand the magnitude of effort being expended on his behalf to try to win this race,” Steven Law, former leader of the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, told Semafor.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said of Paxton: “Got to be more careful when you run with the big dogs.”

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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been following the attempts to smear the Jane Doe in the Cornell University gang rape case and redirect blame from the seven fraternity men onto her. As usual, this campaign is built on a mountain of lies and misogyny. spitfirenews.com/p/cornell-ja...

spitfirenews.com

Debunking the smear campaign against the Cornell Jane Doe

Authorities, media outlets, and pundits are lying about this woman. But only her credibility is getting judged.

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Whoa. @haleaziz.bsky.social has the scoop on a truly insane plan to use some military training ships for deportations, with people presumably shackled or locked in cells for days at a time as they transit to Central and South America. Each journey would be staggeringly expensive — and dangerous.

nytimes.com

Trump Administration Considers Using Ships to Deport Immigrants (Gift Article)

Journeys to destinations including El Salvador and Venezuela could take days and cost millions. Officials cautioned that discussions are still preliminary.

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Julia Azari @juliaazari.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

yup ,exactly. we don't need another "which college majors pay best" chart, we need a society-wide excavacation of where the market is failing to meet society's needs

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Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

what I had to say turned out not to be a column

theatlantic.com

Something Like People

A poem

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Sean O’Kane @okane.fyi · 07/10/2026

SpaceX is basically daring lenders to pony up $40 billion so it can buy Nvidia chips on what sounds like a cocktail napkin www.ft.com/content/d3f5...

Musk's limited financial disclosures have kept some investors away from SpaceX debt in the past.
Investors who SpaceX has previously approached about financing its multibillion-dollar chip purchase said they only received a short two-page deal memo with pictures of outer space and an arrow pointing out that the company was going to build data centres "somewhere in the universeẠạ
"How are we supposed to take that to the
IC?" one of the people said, referring to the in-house investment committee that
approves transactions.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I'm sure the "Fauci lied, people died" crowd will get right on this.

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David Crowley Stan @fanofsheldon.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Looks like the RGA is triaging MI-Gov

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

National Republicans just pulled nearly $2 million of spending out of the Georgia Senate race, per Dem source who shared ad-tracking data with me. The source believes some of it might get redeployed to South Carolina. Another sign of the times.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

RIP "New Hampshire is a toss-up" (Sept. 2026-Oct. 2026)

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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

A good writeup on why most doomsday scenarios about Republicans stealing the House after a clear Democratic victory in November are wrong or are indicative of a desire to have one’s life be a Hollywood thriller

electionlawblog.org

Fearmongering about stealing Congress on January 3, 2027 #ELB

Fellow blogger Justin Levitt wrote an excellent piece in 2024 about the scourge of “electoral-process porn.” Variations of these stories crop up with varying degrees of interest, then dissipate when t...

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

This is the definition you make up when the actual definition sounds appealing.

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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 08/10/2026

FiftyPlusOne is proud to announce a new deal with MS NOW to provide polling averages and interactive data journalism for digital and broadcast platforms!! blog.fiftyplusone.news/p/fiftypluso...

blog.fiftyplusone.news

FiftyPlusOne to power MS NOW’s midterm election coverage

We will provide data for use on MS NOW shows and websites, and build custom polling and election interactives for the midterms

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Very much agree with this. The Trump admin has purposefully attacked mail in voting from multiple directions and continues to make threats of law enforcement at voting sites… their goal is to create confusion, distrust, and fear… to suppress votes.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

"The solution to this isn’t to force Democrats running tough elections to bear hug the party; it’s having liberals invest in their own countervailing media institutions."

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

In which category are you putting Maine?

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Sherrod Brown is already routinely described as an "overperformer" in the same stories that refer to Josh Turek as a "moderate."

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Funny to imagine the moment AOC makes a remark at a fundraiser to hype up supporters, and an entire factional architecture ramps up to set new goalposts such that Abdul has to win by 8 to actually "win." The last poll I saw showed him with the same spread as Jocelyn Benson, the Dem for governor.

slowboring.com

An honest framework for assessing electoral performance

Spot tomorrow’s post-election bullshit today

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

“For example, you can see echoes of the Sicilian campaign in our Iran strategy”

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Christina S. Ho @christinasho.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

“This adds a new layer of complexity to Barre Seid's prodigious funding of climate denialism.”

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

"Former President Barack Obama endorsed Troy Jackson in Maine’s Senate race, wading into a key battleground in the fight for control of the chamber....The endorsement comes just hours before Jackson and Collins are set to meet for their second debate in three days."

ms.now

Obama endorses Jackson as Maine Senate race enters final stretch

The former president’s endorsement gives Troy Jackson another prominent Democratic backer as he seeks to unseat five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

If you are arguing that there is no innocent [person of any nationality whatsoever] then you are making the case for genocide

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Every GOP lawmaker believes this, by the way. It's just that most aren't dumb enough to say it where it could get leaked in an election year.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Despite Republicans' cash advantage, a new Politico poll found "more than 70% of poll respondents who had seen ads said they’d either seen more spots in support of Democrats or an equal amount between the parties over the past week....Only 24% said they’d seen more ads for Republicans."

politico.com

Capitol agenda: GOP ads have yet to overwhelm voters, poll finds

More than 70% of poll respondents who had seen ads said they’d either seen more spots in support of Democrats or an equal amount between the parties over the past week, despite the GOP's cash advantag...

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

“.. one research firm is valuing the artificial intelligence company at a mere $150 billion and says Wall Street is about to face an ‘unprecedented test of investor gullibility.’” @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2026/10/07/a...

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

New CNN/SSRS polls of Ohio and Iowa (9/29-10/5, online and phone) Iowa (MoE ±4.2%) Senate: Hinson 45% - Turek 43% Governor: Sand 51% - Lahn 42% Ohio (MoE ±4.5%) Senate: Brown 49% - Husted 43% Governor: Acton 50% - Ramaswamy 42% Jon Husted hasn't led in any poll since June.

edition.cnn.com

An Ohio edge. An Iowa tossup. New CNN polls give Democrats hope in a pair of red states | CNN Politics

Widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the country has opened up a prime Senate pickup opportunity for Democrats in Ohio and made for a razor-thin contest in Iowa, according to new CNN polls con...

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

“'President Trump has been saying, ‘Vote as if I was on the ballot,’ and that’s exactly what I’m going to do — not vote,' said Brandon Tremaine, 24, a graduate student in Texas who voted for Mr. Trump in 2020. 'You do not campaign on being the ticket of peace and start a war of choice.'"

nytimes.com

‘He’s Not Making Sense’: How Trump Has Alienated Voters for the G.O.P. (Gift Article)

Signs are emerging that dispirited Republican voters may stay home in November, bringing a Democratic surge without many conversions.

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

"Republicans 26 days out from a dire midterm reckoning are turning their cannons toward the two men tasked with the herculean job of maintaining control of Congress.... 'The MAGA Inc. ads aren’t going to save us anyways,' the operative said. 'The ads are going to suck.'”

politico.com

Knives out for Blair and LaCivita

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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

"Three days after Michael Jensen left his job as the top Trump White House official for Latin America policy in late May, he boarded a private jet with an American crypto tycoon scouting oil deals in Venezuela."

washingtonpost.com

Ex-Trump officials seek jobs in Venezuelan oil sector now under U.S. control

Companies and investors are eager to hire those with recent access to the White House and knowledge of the administration’s Venezuela policy or contacts.

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